The Books That Define Ireland

By: Bryan Fanning, Tom Garvin

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

This engaging and provocative work consists of 29 chapters and discusses over 50 mostly nonfiction books that capture the development of Irish social and political thought since the early seventeenth century. Often steering clear of traditionally canonical Irish literature, Bryan Fanning and Tom Garvin debate the significance of their chosen texts and explore the controversy, debates and arguments that followed publication. The books chosen by Fanning and Garvin lay bare the conflicts that have shaped modern Ireland including those relating to the emergence and development of political nationalism, the rise and decline of Catholic power, authoritarian control of sexuality and debates about accountability and corruption. From Wolfe Tone’s frank autobiography to Nell McCafferty’s searing polemic against sexual hypocrisy, from the Catholic Catechism to James Connolly’s Labour in Irish History, from Jonathan Swift’s savage indignation to Flann O’Brien’s disintegrative satire, this book provides a fascinating discussion of how key Irish writers affected the life of their country by upholding or tearing down those matters held close to the heart, identity and habits of the Irish nation.